WELLINGTON EAST.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1291, 21 November 1911, Page 6

WELLINGTON EAST.

MR. V. Ci. BOLTON AT HATATTAI. Mr. l'\ tf. Bolton, Government candidate lor Wellington East, add] •essed a meeting of electors in tlio Hataitai Bowling Pavilion last evening. Captain Light acted as chairman. The pavilion was crowded. Mr. Bolton had a friendly hearing, and was frequently applauded. After dealing with the. present position of parties, a ml giving his reasons for supporting the Government, Mr. Bolton criticised wine recent utterances of Dr. Newman, who had displayed, ho stated, what" lie could only describe as a colossal incapacity to meet a direct challenge or an litter recklessness in Tcparti to. facts. Ho had vainly endeavoured to di.-covor the large ave:i of undeveloped back country in t.lio Wellington provincial district about wliicli Dr. Newman had spoken. The latle.r was again wrong in slating that Ihe.ve were one million acres of Native land lying idle in Wellington province. The actual area of vacant Native land ifl the provinw was SSSjOOO acres.

of which ."iIJ.ODU iicrci were. tniMiil.il/1o for oli>.-i! Krt'Ui'iiieiit. lie had pointed out llic-o facts to ill'. Newman ill II Icller, but the latter h:i<( iml. icjili'-'l. In his spi'i'cli iii. SI. Mark's Schoolroom JJr. Aewinaii hail quoted I'ioiii a iff mil showing tli« position ul' Native lands in It'll! tli'iuiili il. applied in tlii) prcst-iil lime. J)r. Newman had also erred ill staling, in reference lo the Jivo mill mil loan, that tlii! people ul' New Zealand would have I" pny interest mi a sum ul' .'::iiin.(i'J« which ilit-y had never received. lie (Air. Bolton) l.nii Worked nut' tliu ni.-t "I' tin; hum, and made it about ,Clt>s.oUU. Of tliie.-timali! ho liail obtained uliicial verification. Till' actual cost of raisim: the loan was about £ 1 ho, 1)01), nil,l not .WiIIi,IIUII, :us l)r:. Newmail hail slated. The roanm that Iho lean liad cost .fcISCi.OOO was that when money was raised at a low rat'.* of interest, ;v loan could nut bo filiated at par. New Zealand obtained better terms tliiin were obtained by cither Queensland or tin: I'ort of London in l-cspcd of loans floated at about the same jjeriod. lie challenged till! Opposition. lo name any lo:'.n Heated in London that year on bet'tei term:>. -Mr. Bolton said he disapproved of fhe Second Ballot, Ai;l, ami would prefer absolute majority voliny'. Al; present I he, Customs liirjfl' was so framed that articles required by farmers were coming ill flee whilo primary products required by consumers hero were protected by a twenty per rent. duty. Matters should bo so adjusted that tlio boot would be on tlio oilier log. Industries should lie reasonably protected, but the consumer should not bo penalised. It was absurd lo mi.v that all taxation was passed on lo Die poor man. An increased graduated land tax and a still' absentee tax wero advocated by tbo candidate. The Death Duties Act was one of the most democratic measures ever introduced. }lo favoured the establishment by the Government of cold stores and warehouses in or near Jxmdou. Now Zealand products could then be stored when prices wero 'unduly low and there was a glut in tlio market. This would prevent the- producer being penalised. Itaving briclly outlined and explained some of the principal enactments passed or amended during the last five years, Mr. Bollon claimed that most of thorn were designed to serve the interests of the wag-a-oarners. Tlio Government had not marked time oil the land question. Tho time had come to make a change in the constitution of tho Arbitration Court. An employer and an employee in each industry in which a disputo arose should be appointed in place of the members of the Court who now sat with the Judge. The Judge himself should be replaced by a president who was not a lawyer. Mr. Bolton was unanimously accorded a vote of thanks and confidence, and was cheered by those present ere they dispersed.